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Electronic water meters promise savings

Eight million dollars will be spent installing new electronic water meters in Victoria's north-west.

It will provide real-time water readings for the Wimmera-Mallee Pipeline's customers, as well as saving an estimated 350 megalitres per year.

Water Minister Peter Walsh says Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water (GWM) will now go to tender for the installation of the meters.

"So $8 million of money that was savings out the Wimmera-Mallee Pipeline project that has now been made available to put in what's called back-to-base metering," he said.

"So each of the 12,700 metres across the pipeline district will have a meter put on it that can relay water usage back to head office."

He says it will also mean cost savings for GWM.

"So for GWM it means a saving of 30,000 kilometres a year in staff driving around reading those meters," he said.

"It means a saving of water because there's an estimation that it'll save about 350 megalitres a year that's lost now and for the farmer it gives them real-time information about if there is a leak in their system they can indentify it and go and fix it."